Plum | Peach | Leather | Black cherry | Vanilla | Oak | Expressive

Stone fruit | Mixed nuts | Raisins |  Spicy cinnamon | Rich & well integrated

Blackcurrant | Dry oak | Vanilla extract | Leather | Long

With each new release of Chicken Cock whiskey, Grain and Barrel Spirits pulls from the company’s rich and interesting history. For Chanticleer, the “release celebrates the long time French-American friendship dating back to the 1700's during the American Revolutionary War. Bourbon County, Kentucky, was named after the royal French Family —the Bourbons— and Paris, Kentucky —where Chicken Cock was founded in 1856— was named after Paris, France.” The company’s master distiller, Gregg Snyder, hand-selected 32 barrels to marry with a Cognac finish. Keeping with the brand’s luxury spirit goal, Chanticleer comes in at $500 which makes it hard not to think about that price tag when sipping it.

Cognac finished bourbons have been picking up in popularity among producers. Cognac’s deep and rich flavors are centered around grape which tend to be complementary to bourbon's typical flavor profile. So, if some many other brands are releasing a Cognac finished bourbon at a lower price, and the flavors tend to pair somewhat effortlessly, how does Chanticleer justify its eye popping price?

Tasting Chanticleer against other Cognac finished bourbons, it becomes clear what it excels at. Many Cognac finished bourbons tend to lean too heavily on their grape note, which results in an overly sweet whiskey. Others can become bitter with an excess of finishing time. Chanticleer in turn is very well integrated throughout and it is the reason why it's perhaps best-in-class of Cognac finished bourbons to date. It has a general lack of a pure grape note and instead provides more complex stone fruit, raisins, and blackcurrant notes. While that may seem minor, it makes all the difference. The whiskey as a whole tastes mature and developed, with the flavors having more weight to them. This might be coming from the base bourbon, or the Cognac barrels used, or a combination of both, despite this, it is very noticeable and beneficial to the end product. While the flavors are rich, they don’t scream at you during your first sip. This can give off the impression that this is a lackluster $500 finished bourbon, but it's anything from the truth.

The American whiskey market is still maturing and whiskeys of Chanticleer’s price range typically get shade thrown their way because of it. While Cognac finished bourbon won’t be for everyone, Chanticleer’s price won’t be either. As with any whiskey in this price range, it needs to prove itself if it hopes to command such a high price. For now, Chanticleer makes a pretty good, if still difficult purchase decision, no matter how hard it tries.